Publishing a Book Through Amazon
I’ve done a post before about book publication, but here’s another one about the actual process. So, my next book is about to get published through Amazon and I’m both excited and utterly terrified.
When I finished editing it for the final time, I ran to tell my sister. Then, I cried. It was very emotional. My second baby was ready to be seen by the world and that’s very overwhelming. It’s hard to know when’s the right time, and weeks, months and years of work suddenly being over, is very scary. It feels like something will be missing once you let go. So, if you’re a caring novelist, be ready for these wave of feelings.
But Amazon are amazing. If you don’t want to or simply can’t publish your book the usual way, then self-publishing through Amazon is quick, easy and very good. There is a stigma attached to self-publishing, and people see it as less impressive than normal publishing, but the simple fact is that great books can be self-published. All it means is that the author took their own fate into their own hands. Remember that J.K. Rowling was rejected many times by normal publishing houses, so I think it’s safe to say that they don’t always know what a good book is when they see it either!
How does Amazon publishing work then? Well there’s this site called Createspace.com, where one gets to create the book they want published. By implementing the content and information that the site requests, step-by-step, you get guided through the publication process. It starts with the title and author name information. Then there’s the interior design.
The interior is the hardest and longest part, but stay patient and keep going. In the Word document of your manuscript, you’re going to have to set out the book the way you want it to look when published. This is the header, listing your author’s name and book title; then the page count at the bottom; the chapter title layout; and anything else that comes with it. Doesn’t sound too hard, and it might not be, but I have rather long books with many chapters so it did take me a while.
Next we have the cover. If you’re a good designer, with Photoshop or another editing software, then this should be easy. If you have the money, you could pay someone to make it for you instead. Or there’s a option on Createspace.com to make the image yourself, however there’s less freedom and your book will be less original. Luckily for me, my brother is a designer so he is going to help me. I purchased my image from iStock and it’s a good site to get your image from too, if you know what you’re looking for and you’re willing to sift through a lot of images to find it.
Lastly, there’s the reviewing process and ISBN and payment details for the royalties. Again, these parts are quite straightforward. Createspace can give you a free ISBN for your book, as every book needs one in order to be published. This makes it unique. Then you’re pretty much done.
All in all, the process is very simple. If you read through the guidelines and download the templates that guide you, I promise that you will be fine. Amazon seems to understand what makes a good book and what authors need to know to get them published. On the site, there is also stats of your book’s sales and ways to track them. It has everything!
If you need more info or any help, I’d be happy to share what I know. Budding authors need to stick together. It is from connecting with other authors that I know how to do this myself. Don’t be afraid to connect.
~ Damsel
